Brothers William D. Chase, a journalist and publisher from Michigan, and Harrison V. Chase, a university professor based in Florida, founded Chase’s Calendar of Events in 1957. From his years as a newspaper librarian, Bill Chase knew of the need for a single reference source for calendar dates, and for authoritative and current information about various observances throughout the year.

In the summer of 1957, the brothers decided to create such a reference themselves. That fall, they set to work collecting, compiling, verifying, editing and proofreading the events that would make up the first Chase's Calendar of Events. Everything but the printing was done from their homes. Advertising and promotion consisted mainly of a postal card announcement to libraries and newspapers.

On Dec 4, 1957, the first edition (for the year 1958) was delivered by the printer—2,000 copies. It was 32 pages, contained 364 entries and sold for $1. (Today’s editions are 752 pages and contain more than 12,500 entries.)

In 1958 the Chases were invited by the US Chamber of Commerce to incorporate Special Days, Weeks and Months, a pamphlet the Chamber published listing commercial promotions. The 1959 and all subsequent editions of Chase's have included “Special Days, Weeks and Months” as a subtitle.

In the fall of 1987, the Chase team (which had grown to include Bill Chase’s wife, Helen) decided to retire from compiling the calendar, and Contemporary Books in Chicago, IL, began handling all facets of the calendar. Beginning that year each edition was compiled by an in-house staff of editors and researchers.

In January 2015, Chase’s Calendar of Events was acquired from McGraw-Hill Education (who had acquired Contemporary Books a decade before) by Bernan Press, an imprint of Rowman & Littlefield. Bernan Press is America’s largest one-stop source of publications from hundreds of US government agencies and intergovernmental organizations worldwide, as well as a respected publisher of critically acclaimed reference works based on government data.

Chase’s Calendar of Events today is the most comprehensive and authoritative reference available on special events, holidays, federal and state observances, historic anniversaries and more. Each spring, hundreds of new entries are submitted to join the more than 12,500 items that make up each year’s edition. Each event listing (where applicable) contains contact and mailing information. There is no charge to be listed in Chase’s. Each new edition appears in late September preceding the year in question.